Empira Group has acquired a development site in Coral Gables for $18 million and plans to build a 161-unit luxury multifamily building called The Aurelian. The Swiss investment firm continues to expand its presence in Miami-Dade County, following its entry into the market three years ago.
The proposed project will be located at 912-921 East Ponce de Leon Boulevard on a 1.2-acre site. According to Empira’s announcement, the 12-story building will include 5,000 square feet of public space and a park. Designed by Behar Font, the plan also features a 248-space parking garage, gym with yoga studio, pool, outdoor lounge, and an entrance sculpture created by artist Michele Oka Doner.
The property was sold by Alliance Starlight II, managed by Roberto Trapaga. Current structures on the site include three vacant lots and two apartment buildings built in 1945 and 1954 with a combined total of 16 units. Shani Heskiel of Beachfront Realty represented the seller while Bobby Berrido of Fausto Commercial represented Empira in the transaction.
Construction is expected to begin early next year.
Empira is led by Rafael Aregger, Branko Kuzmanović, and Michael Marrero. The company traditionally focuses on private equity and debt investments in residential real estate across German-speaking Europe for clients such as pension funds, insurance companies, and banks.
Since entering Miami-Dade in 2022 through the purchase of a half-acre site in The Roads neighborhood for $9 million, Empira has increased its local development activity. It is currently developing Enso, an eight-story multifamily project with 85 units at 3025 and 3051 Southwest Third Avenue.
Last year Empira established its U.S. headquarters in downtown Miami.
In May this year Empira secured a $111.3 million construction loan for Perrin—a planned 26-story apartment tower with 310 units at 244 Southwest Ninth Street in Brickell—after acquiring that one-acre site for $21.5 million last year; construction began in June.
Other residential developments are also underway or planned for Coral Gables. Shoma Group intends to build Ponce 8—a proposed Live Local Act project consisting of a 16-story apartment building with 201 units—which would allocate at least forty percent of its residences to households earning up to one hundred twenty percent of area median income due to state law changes made since https://therealdeal.com/miami/2023/03/29/live-local-act-would-give-florida-developers-big-density-bonuses-for-affordable-housing/. In June Edgardo Defortuna’s Fortune International Group paid $37.5 million for another redevelopment site at https://therealdeal.com/miami/2024/06/05/fortune-international-pays-38m-for-coral-gables-redev-site-plans-condos/, where it plans a branded condominium project valued at $150 million with more than two hundred fifty units.
